Chapter Text
“Oi, Four Eyes, get up. We need to get going.”
“Leave me alone, Levi,” Zoe moaned as she turned over underneath the covers. She pulled the comforter up over her head as Levi pulled open the curtains to let the light drown inside the room. “Just five more minutes.”
“We don’t have five more minutes. We should have left already.”
“I’m tired. Baby kept me up all night.”
He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. He pulled the blanket down, gently running a hand through her hair. He was at his wits end. She was having a rough time and he honestly had no idea of what to do to make her feel better.
“Do you want me to tell Erwin you’re not feeling well? He won’t mind, you know.”
“I can go.”
“Then let’s get going.”
“Just give me a minute.”
He stood up, starting out of the room. “I’m leaving.”
She rolled out of the bed rather dramatically, causing him to roll his eyes.
“Just hurry up,” He mumbled as he closed the bedroom door.
--
At the end of the day, Levi went to Zoe's office to see if she was ready to go home, and lo and behold, she was asleep at her desk. He ended up having to carry her out after she would not awake. Of course, as soon as they had gotten home, she awoke from her peaceful slumber.
"That was a nice nap," she yawned as she pulled herself up off the couch with some difficulty.
It was then that Levi noticed her walk: she was waddling. He let out a chuckle under his breath.
"Is something funny?"
She sounded almost angry and Levi knew better than to get her angry. He admitted that when Zoe Hanji got angry, even he trembled a bit, and not much could do that to him, so he drew back his laughter.
He scanned over the newspaper as he sat at the table. She grabbed a piece of fruit from the counter. She waddled to the seat adjacent to him while rubbing her lower back.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, not looking up from reading. He had seen her display of discomfort from his peripheral vision.
"My back and legs are so sore," She moaned before taking a bite.
He glanced up at her and his expression remained the same. "Maybe you need to rest more." He diverted his attention back to the paper.
"Huh?"
"I'm just saying that you're overworking yourself, Four-Eyes; you don't have as much energy as usual."
"But, I have work-"
"You still need rest. You're not taking care of just yourself anymore. If this morning has anything to show for it, you definitely need more rest. I think it's time you take off for a while."
"But there's so much I need to do," She whined.
"And it will be there when you return. You can't run yourself ragged like this, Zoe."
She was surprised by the sudden use of her first name. He could only mean business if he was referring to her in such a manner.
"Besides, Armin has shown interest in your research. Let him take over while you're gone. I'm sure he would be happy to share any findings he might have with you."
Her face lit up in happiness. "You think he'd do that? I could still discuss theories and-"
"Yes, I'll make sure he does if it means you'll take a break."
"I can still work, though." She frowned. "You already banned me from missions and studying Titans; I think I can continue to conduct research."
"Do you want to stress out our child?"
"I don't feel stressed out, so the baby shouldn't either."
"You need to rest more. If anything, think of the brat and how it needs you to calm your ass down."
She leaned back in her seat, using her legs to push it back with an awful screeching noise. Her hands went to her stomach.
"Daddy wants Mommy to take a break. You don't want that, do you, Bean?"
"Don't think about nicknaming it after your Titans."
"Nickname?" She asked, looking up from her belly to Levi, "Who said anything about nicknames? That's what I'm going to name it."
"You can't just choose our child's name like that."
She huffed a bit and he could tell her hormones were acting up by the way she seemed to get irritated. "It's coming out of me and if I want to name it Bean, I will name it Bean."
"You have got to be fucking kidding me."
He mentally took note that he would have to take a look at names before their child would be forced to suffer with the name Bean. Next, he was sure she would bring up the name Sawney once he put his foot down about Bean.
"You have two choices: Sawney or Bean."
And, there it was.
"We are not naming the kid after one of your pets."
She crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted. “I don’t see you coming up with any names.”
He put the paper down; his face appeared even more serious than usual, if that was possible. “Whatever we name it, it will not be Sawney or Bean. I deserve to have a choice, too, and our child will not have such a ridiculous name.”
Her pout deepened. She scooted in towards the table, resting her chin in her hands. She stared at Levi in thought. He opened his mouth to say something before she cut him off, "Isn't your heritage from France?"
At first, he was confused. He had only mentioned a few times that his family had hailed from France many centuries ago and he was surprised that she had remembered such a menial detail. Still, it was Zoe Hanji and she was bound to remember those little, useless details. (Because honestly, he did not care much for his ancestry. What use did any of it really have?)
"Yes. Your point being?"
"What about a French name?"
He was taken aback even more. His heritage for their child's name?
"I'm sure I could find a few books with French names! We could pick them out together!"
He took note of the sparkle of excitement in her eyes. Slowly, he nodded, agreeing to her plan. "I suppose if that's what you want."
"Well, I'd rather name it Bean, but if you won't let me-"
"Absolutely not. Bean is a ridiculous name."
"-then a French name will suffice! What do you think, Levi?"
"If it means you won't name our child Bean, then yes, that's fine."